Summary: A collection of vignettes from the Fables' past and a small story arc set in the present story time line. In the main arc, Snow White and the Wolf are attacked by a rogue Goldilocks trying to clean up her mess from the previous volume.

( Read more... )

Summary: When Small was 14 years old, he underwent what he thought was a routine and harmless surgery. When he awoke, his neck was a mass of stitches and his vocal cords had been removed, rendering him speechless. He had had cancer, and no one had told him. Here, Small recounts his childhood and the aftermath of his life-changing surgery.

( Read more... )

Summary: Snow White and Rose Red travel upstate to the Farm, where the Fables unable to pass for human live in isolation. But what they find there is unrest and brewing mutiny. Cut off from the rest of the loyalist community, the sisters are alone against hostile creatures bent on taking back the homelands.

( Read more... )

Summary: In the final weeks of his senior year of high school, nerdy Quentin ("Q") goes on a midnight mayhem spree with Margo Roth-Spiegelman, the undisputed queen of his high school and the girl he's been in love with for years. But the next day, Margo is gone, and no one knows where. Q follows a trail of confusing clues that she's left behind, and learns that no one really knew Margo at all...

( Read more... )

Readalikes: I don't read a lot of realistic fiction, so this is hard. I think Going Bovine, while zanier, has some of the same elements, including the theme of living for the moment and enjoying your life. Also, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks needs to go here, if only because I think Frankie and Margo would get along really, really well.

Summary: The misplaced fairy tale characters in New York City are mostly just trying to get by unnoticed. But when a shocking murder occurs, the whole community is shaken. Bigsby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown, teams up with Snow White to solve the murder of Rose Red in an old-fashioned whodunit.

( Read more... )

Readalikes: Really reminded me of the movie, The 10th Kingdom, more than anything else. I guess I could see lots of urban fantasy crossing into this, but little of it has the same feel, with cameos from everyone's favorite fairy tale characters.

Summary: Robin of Loxley returns home from the Crusades to find that Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham are plotting to steal King Richard's throne, and taxing the people to starvation. So Robin gathers a band of outlaws and sets out to set things right...

( Read more... )

Readalikes: Try the Graphic Classics series, which retells classic works of literature in graphic novel form. There's also the Illustrate Classics series which does much the same thing.

Summary: Librarian and failed mage Portier is called in to investigate the attempted assassination of his cousin, the king. He allies himself with an unlikely mage and notorious court dandy to uncover the conspiracy.

( Read more... )

Summary: In the summer of 1899, friends Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla have come up with a plan to end war forever, using one of Tesla's brilliant inventions. Unfortunately, they have to face off against and evil cult lead by Thomas Edison, J. P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie before they can bring about world peace....

( Read more... )

Readalikes: Well, I keep getting suggestions for Action Philosophers on Amazon, so I'll throw that in there. I kind of felt like this was a send-up to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, so you might want to check that out, too. If you liked the demon-raising part of the story, I could see you liking Hellboy and its spinoffs, too. If you liked the science and history part, maybe check out some Rick Geary? Of course, we can't overlook the more recent Grandville as a readalike as well.

Summary: After Jane and Gabriel's relationship goes down in flames, Jane returns home to run her bookstore, where she faces her family, a figure from Gabriel's past, and the insidious Chamber of Commerce.

( Read more... )

Summary: In this sequel to The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, we get the story from Goth Girl's point of view. She returns to school and tries to resolve her conflicted feelings about Fanboy, her father, and her mother's death.

( Read more... )

Summary: In the conclusion to the Preacher saga, Jesse and Cassidy face off, while the Grail makes a final effort to being Jesse down.

( Read more... )

Overall, I have to give this whole series my highest recommendation. I really loved it, and can see why it makes it onto all of thos "best comics" lists. That said, I'm inserting the caveat this is also one of the most violent and irreverent comics I've ever read. Once you get past the initial shock, there's also a lot of dark, but very funny humor (the kind of things you feel guilty for laughing at), so it's doubly worth it.

Summary: Jesse returns to New York to track down Tulip and win back her love.

( Read more... )

Summary: Feeling betrayed by Tulip and Cassidy, Jesse drifts to the small town of Salvation, Texas, where he reunites with some old friends and set out to clean up the crooked business man who is ruining the town.

( Read more... )

Summary: Each mini-chapter tells the tale of a true badass from history. Some are obvious: King Leonitas of Sparta, General Patton, Vlad Tepes, etc. Others are more obscure: Bass Reeves, the black sherrif/bounty hunter of the old west; Wolf the Quarrelsome, a viking warrior who defended his country against invaders, and Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai. All of them are awesome.

( Read more... )

Summary: Merry assists the police in a murder investigation: a serial killer is targeting fey to gruesomely recreate scenes from children's stories. Merry and her guards try to solve the murders while keeping the newly preggers Merry safe.

( Read more... )

Summary: Alcatraz finally returns Nalhalla, the land of his birth, just in time for the Librarians to strike a treaty with the free kingdoms--but at a terrible cost. Combine that with the return of Alcatraz's nefarious mother and this apathetic father, and the 13-year-old hero has s a lot to do if he's to save the world--again.

( Read more... )

It was a good year for books. I read a disturbing number of graphic novels this year, but I also managed to (attempt) to kick the YA habit and read some more grown-up books. I didn’t necessarily succeed with flying colors, but I read more big people books than last year, so that’s something!

So, the grand total number of books I read this year: 94 (cut me some slack--I moved across the country!)

So here’s my list of my favorites of year, the ones I had the most trouble with (most of which you won’t have heard of, since I never finished them), and my reading goals for 2010.

The Good:
( Read more... )

The Bad:
( Read more... )

And finally, my reading goals for next year (some of which I’m setting as “goals,” and some of which I just know I’m going to read when they’re published):
( Read more... )

To keep things interesting, the staff at the library have devised a weighting system for books, to see who can accumulate the most "points" in a year, rather than who can read the most books (the "most books" scenario clearly favors the graphic novel and YA lit people, but not the poor person who slogged through The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, so this should be more fair). It should be and interesting year.

Happy reading! And feel free to reply with some of your favorite books of 2009!

Summary: Jane Jameson is still adjusting to life as a vampire. But now she also finds herself in the middle of a werewolf wedding, where she’s serving as her friend Jolene’s Maid of Honor, dodging her friend Zeb’s unexplained advances, and questioning her own boyfriend’s loyalty. Strange things are happening in Half Moon Hollow…

( Read more... )

Summary: As the school year begins, the mysterious "Zack" deepens his hold on the Locke children. To make matters more complicated, Bode discovers another key--one which allows a person to open their own head, and add or remove things as will.

( Read more... )

Summary: In this steampunk take on an alternate Paris, Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard investigates the murder of a minor British diplomat by the French secret police. But nothing is what is seems, and as LeBrock and his partner, Ratzi, draw closer to the truth, things become increasingly dangerous.

( Read more... )

Readalikes: Well, I would suggest Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, since they both have the steampunk retelling of European history. For another fun twist on history, I can't recommend Andre Norton's Shadow of Albion (or its sequel, Leopard in Exile) strongly enough, though they veer more towards fantasy than steampunk. I haven't seen it yet, but the new Sherlock Holmes movie seems like it might have the same tone (the one that bears little to no resemblance to Doyles original work). So that might also be something to check out.